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Howard, who came from Miami and played high school football about one hour south of me, was stabbed to death on campus. Very tragic and RIP.
Jasper Howard, a 5-foot-9, 174-pound starting cornerback on the UConn football team, died today after an on-campus stabbing.
According to multiple sources, Howard, 20, was reportedly was stabbed near the student union.
Howard is from Miami and attended Miami Edison High School.
State Police major crime unit and UConn police say the stabbing happened just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday on Hillside Road near the center of campus. Police said two people were stabbed and were found near each other on Hillside Road. Both were taken by UConn ambulances to Windham Community Memorial Hospital. Police said the stabbing happened when a school-sponsored dance at the student union was let out. A fire alarm was pulled at 12:26 a.m., an altercation happened outside the building between two groups of people and then two people were stabbed.
The perpetrator of the stabbing is still at large, according to an emergency alert posted on the University’s website Sunday morning.
On Saturday, Howard had a solid performance in the Huskies 38-25 win over Louisville at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. He had 11 tackles and also forced a fumble and recovered it in the third quarter. That led to a 30-yard field goal.
Howard often talked about his tough time growing up in Miami. His mother, Joangila worked many jobs to support him and his sisters including one, Jasmine, who is afflicted with meningitis.
Howard, the first in his family to go to college, also often talked about his dream of making it professionally so that he could support his family.
The first Connecticut Huskie to ever go in the first round?
ESPN writes- There’s a fine line between patience and hesitation for running backs and Brown does an excellent job of straddling that line. He reads his blocks extremely well, hits holes as they open and reads the flow of defenses well. There are some questions about his pass-catching ability but we believe he’s going to develop into an excellent receiver, especially after watching him catch and track the ball during UConn’s pro day.
No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this Saturday, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.
Dec 20
Eaglebank Bowl- Wake Forest vs Navy
New Mexico Bowl- Colorado State vs Fresno St
MAGICJACK ST. PETERSBURG BOWL- Memphis vs. South Florida
PIONEER LAS VEGAS BOWL- Brigham Young vs Arizona
Dec 21
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL- Southern Miss vs. Troy
Dec 23
SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL- Boise St vs TCU
Dec 24
SHERATON HAWAII BOWL- Hawaii vs Notre Dame
Dec 26
MOTOR CITY BOWL- Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
Saturday, December 27
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL- West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Champs Sports Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Florida State
Emerald Bowl- Miami (FL) vs. California
December 28
Independence Bowl- Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL- North Carolina State vs. Rutgers
Valero Alamo Bowl- Missouri vs. No. 23 Northwestern
Tuesday, December 30
ROADY’S HUMANITARIAN BOWL- Maryland vs. Nevada
PACIFIC LIFE HOLIDAY BOWL- Oklahoma State vs. No. 17 Oregon
Texas Bowl- Western Michigan vs. Rice
Wednesday, December 31
BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL- Houston vs. Air Force
Sun Bowl- Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL- Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Insight Bowl- Kansas vs. Minnesota
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL- LSU vs. Georgia Tech
Thursday, January 1
OUTBACK BOWL- South Carolina vs. Iowa
CAPITAL ONE BOWL- Georgia vs. Michigan State
Gator Bowl- Nebraska vs. Clemson
Rose Bowl- Penn State vs. USC
Fedex Orange Bowl- Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Friday, January 2
Cotton Bowl- Mississippi vs. Texas Tech
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL- Kentucky vs. East Carolina
ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL- Utah vs. Alabama
January 3
INTERNATIONAL BOWL- Buffalo vs. Connecticut
January 5
TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL- Ohio State vs. Texas
January 6
GMAC Bowl- Ball State vs. Tulsa*
January 8
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Florida vs. Oklahoma
That’s 34 games, 68 schools spread over a period of 20 days for those of you keeping score at home. An ample supply of college football for any fanatics out there.
A few notes
*- There are a few bowl games remaining without corporate names in their title. Gator, Sun, Texas, Independence. Were these games unable to find sponsors?
*- Will Oklahoma St. and Oregon combine for 70 pts or more in the Holiday Bowl? This annually has been of the most high scoring affairs.
*- Oh how has the Orange Bowl dropped. A game that featured early triumphs of Joe Paterno led Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma in their glory days, the first major bowl appearance of Florida State, and the all time classic 84 battle between Nebraska and Miami, has Cincinnati and Virginia Tech playing this year. I’m sure they are talented football teams, but how many people are drooling to see them play in a prime-time network slot?
*- Arizona and BYU meet in a bowl 30 years after the former left the WAC conference for the higher profile Pac Eight(Now Ten, Arizona State joined also)
*- Vanderbilt makes a rare bowl appearance. Congratulations to Commodore fans, but this is a sign of how bowls are grown way out of proportion. 6-6 college teams get bids. When I was growing up I could remember Florida State going without a bowl in 1978 even though they finished the season 8-3.
It is my humble opinion that bowl season has gotten out of hand. Someone may say what’s the big deal? If someone wants to start a bowl game and there are two schools willing to play in it, does their records matter. A good football isn’t only a contest between stars at big name schools.
All true, but how much public money is spent on these affairs? Many of the teams are state universities who get funded by taxpayers. Then there is the game itself where police have to be taken from other tasks to work the day or night of the game or paid over-time.
With the economic downturn right now, you have to wonder if there will be less bowls in the near future. That would depend on how long a deal a corporate sponsor signed on for. I wonder how many fans of some schools plan to make a bowl trip. Are there 1,000 or more FAU Owls willing to journey from Florida to Michigan in December to watch the team play? Even if I were a Owl fan and had money, I’d stay home.
Enjoy the games.
  The Dallas Cowboys have drafted Connecticut fullback Deon Anderson with the 21st pick in the 6th round (195 overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. He’s an excellent blocking fullback with outstanding size and strength but generally considered undisciplined and a “character” problem.
Here’s his Scouts, Inc. profile:
Deon Anderson | FB | (5′10″, 243, 4.73) | CONNECTICUT
Scouts Grade: 31
Flags: (C: CHARACTER) Problems on and off the field
 Strengths: Has good size, runs with adequate leverage and is a powerful short-yardage runner that rarely goes down with the first hit. Is physical and looks to run over defenders. Plays with a mean streak, possesses good upper body strength and is physical at the point of attack. Shows good focus while the ball is in the air and rarely drops passes that should catch. Keeps head up, shows good awareness and can pick up the blitz when asked to help out in pass protection. Plays with a good motor, has experience covering kicks and can contribute on special teams.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t show great balance as a blocker, fails to lock onto defenders at times and has some problems sustaining blocks. While is capable of knocking defenders back doesn’t always roll hips into blocks and isn’t fundamentally sound. Appears hesitant at times and has problems getting into position at the second level when isn’t aggressive. Doesn’t have the burst to turn the corner and lacks ideal top-end speed. Isn’t elusive and isn’t going to make many big plays. Missed the 2005 season for unspecified reasons and looked into transferring before returning to the team in as a walk-on in January of 2006, he has had some off-the-field problems and character is somewhat of a concern.
Overall: Anderson started six of the 12 games he appeared in during his true freshman season in 2002, rushing for 119 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries and catching five passes for 12 yards. He started five of the 12 games he appeared in during the 2003 season rushing for 124 yards on 35 carries and catching 15 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown. Anderson started three of the 12 games he appeared in during the 2004 season rushing for 99 yards on 22 carries and catching 14 passes for 133 yards. He missed the 2005 season and re-joined the team as a walk-on in 2006. In his return to action in 2006 he played in 11 games with nine starts, missing the season finale against Louisville with a neck stinger, and finished with 23 carries for 78 yards (3.4 average) and 14 catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
There are concerns about Anderson’s character and he needs to work on his technique as a blocker. On the positive side, he displays the toughness, size and versatility to develop into an every-down fullback for teams in search of his kind. Anderson might be too much of a risk to waste a draft pick on but he is worth bringing into training camp as a priority free agent.
SI.com didn’t even think he was worth drafting:
POSITIVES: Hard-working blocker who flashes abilities handling the ball. Quick off the snap, has a burst of speed and accelerates into blocks. Jolts opponents at the point, sealing them from the action and opens holes for running backs. Fluid into pass routes.
NEGATIVES: Looks lean on the field and does not play like a 250-pound lead blocker. Not a natural pass-catcher.
ANALYSIS: A solid athlete who has displayed flashes of skill at Connecticut, Anderson has the ability to develop into a lead blocker for a West Coast offense. Must sort out his personal issues, which ultimately could keep him from having a career at the next level
PROJECTION: Undrafted Free Agent
Another rather dubious pick.
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The biggest Cinderella story since at Villanova’s stunning 1985 championship run is on, with #11 seed George Mason continuing its improbable march through the NCAA tournament with an overtime victory over top seeded UConn. Ironically, its semi-final opponent could be Villanova, whose game with Florida just tipped off.
H. Darr Beiser of USA Today provides a quick game summary:
The George Mason Patriots danced their way into the Final Four on Sunday with a stunning 86-84 overtime victory over top-seeded Connecticut at the Verizon Center in Washington. With the win, George Mason became the highest seeded team to reach the national semifinals since 11th-seeded LSU reached the Final Four in 1986. But as has been the case with the Huskies all tournament, they simply wouldn’t go away when the game seemed all but over.
George Mason held a 74-70 lead late when the Huskies’ Marcus Williams hit a jumper with seven seconds left to cut the deficit to two. Rudy Gay then committed a quick foul on the Patriots’ Tony Skinn with six ticks left on the clock. After Skinn missed the front end of the one-and-one, Williams swiftly drove to halfcourt and passed to Denham Brown on the wing. Brown drove baseline and made an acrobatic reverse layup that bounced on the rim three times before finally falling through the net after the buzzer sounded to send the game into the extra frame.
In overtime, the Patriots calmly nabbed a quick lead after Will Thomas hit a jumper with 4:13 left. The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes until Thomas hit another jumper with 2:11 remaining that put the Patriots up 82-78, a lead they would not relinquish a second time.
Jai Lewis led the way with 21 points and Lamar Butler and Will Thomas added 19 apiece. But the win didn’t come without a complete team effort. All five Patriots starters finished the game in double figures as Skinn pitched in 10 and Folarin Campbell added 15.
MSNBC piles on,
Now this is madness.
George Mason stunned No. 1 Connecticut 86-84 in overtime at the Washington D.C. Regional final on Sunday, as the No. 11 seed became one of the most surprising stories in NCAA Tournament history.
Connecticut was regarded as one of the tournament favorites due in part to their coach, Jim Calhoun, who has won two NCAA titles, and their roster of NBA-caliber players, led by probable draft picks Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone.
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